Graham Fitkin - Soundbytes Commission

New work for harp and string quartet

To be premiered by Ruth Wall and the Sacconi Quartet at soundfestival 2016.

Graham’s involvement with sound goes back to before we even started! Along with Ruth Wall, Graham came to perform Kaplan at sound’s pilot event, Upbeat, in 2004. Since then, his music has been performed at sound many times, both by his own band and by other ensembles and soloists.

We have been discussing this commission for a few years now, and are very excited that it's finally becoming a reality. It will be part of a bigger theme during the 2016 soundfestival on composing for string quartet.

Biography

Graham Fitkin lives in Cornwall. He composes for concerts, dance, film and digital media and runs his own ensemble of 9 soloists.

Between 1994 and 1996, Graham was resident composer with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. Since then he has been commissioned by, amongst others, Halle, BBC Philharmonic, Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, RSNO, BBC Orchestra of Wales, New York City Ballet and BBC Symphony Orchestra.

Recent works include Circuit, for soloists Kathryn Stott and Noriko Ogawa with BBC Philharmonic, a Cello Concerto for Yo-Yo Ma, Still Warm for Ruth Wall, Lens for Janine Jansen at the Concertgebouw and Twenty Six Days for 10:10 at Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival. There have been recent collaborations with Les Percussions Claviers de Lyon, Powerplant, Ruth Wall and the Royal Ballet and, since 2007, he has been Resident Composer with London Chamber Orchestra.

Recordings of Graham’s work have been released by Decca, Factory Classical, Sanctuary, Sony, EMI and GFR. Circuit has just been released with Tokyo Symphony Orchestra on BIS.

His own band performed new work for the London Olympiad, an opera for the Royal Opera House in collaboration with Jasmin Vardimon and an orchestral collaboration to celebrate 2014 European City of Culture, Umea in Sweden. 2015 sees a new premiere for RLPO and FitkinWall release the new album Lost and tour through UK and Europe.